Individuals Counselling In Chester
Counselling is appropriate for all sorts of people. It can help if you are working class or middle class, old or young, heterosexual, gay or lesbian, black or white or from an ethnic minority community. People who have been sexually abused can find talking therapy particularly helpful if it is offered at a time when they are ready for it. It may also help if you are on medication, or you have had a diagnosis such as depression or obsessive compulsive disorder.
Some people prefer counselling instead of prescribed drugs, or a combination of both. I would be happy to work with you while you are taking medication, as there is no reason why the two should not be used together. Some research shown that a combination of drugs and therapy works better than on its own.
Increases in stress related conditions, as a result of the increasing complexity and pace of modern lifestyles has resulted in growing demand for counselling. Counselling services have been shown to reduce the expense of drug prescriptions and hospital referrals, as well as reducing the number of sick days by employees. Counselling has also been seen as fulfilling the roles previously occupied by members of the extended family and the clergy.
If you are worried about something, or want to talk through issues that are affecting you, counselling offers the time and space to help you deal with life’s problems. Counsellors are trained to listen, attentively and to help you find your own answers, without judging you. You may find that a supportive counsellor can help you through a crisis or a difficult patch in your life. Or you may find it more helpful to talk after the crisis has passed, to think about what happened and why.
Counselling is more likely to help if you want to explore your feelings and change your behaviour. It can help people to understand what’s blocking their progress, it enables them to grow and make the best of themselves.
Counsellors have different types of training, so their approach and way of working will vary. However, research has shown that how you get on with the individual counsellor is more important that the type of therapy you get. If you and the therapist can work well together, trust and respect each other, it is more likely to work for you.
There is often a stigma around counselling and some people feel it is a sign of weakness to go for this type of help. Seeing a counsellor doesn’t mean you are self-indulgent or going mad; don’t let these prejudices stop you trying it. It can take strength and courage to be prepared to look at yourself and your situation.
The Process of Therapy
The five stages (according to Christine-Lister-Ford, 2002)
- The client tells their story: important information is gathered, and the practitioner and client develop their working relationship.
- The client develops insight and awareness: about themselves and the origin of their problem.
- The working through stage: where the client will release “held emotions related to going against their human wants and needs”. Sometimes clients need to grieve for the past opportunities they have missed because of their self-imposed limitations. Clients become free to re-evaluate their lives, free from the limitations of the old destructive patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving that had been holding them back.
- The re-decision stage: is where the client makes and acts on decisions they have made for themselves based upon their new free way of being.Clients will experiment with “being different both inside and outside the counselling session”.
- Succeeding and ending counselling: this is the point at which the clients have achieved their goals and are happy to review their work and the end of therapy.
Can I Help?
I work with individual clients over the age of sixteen on various issues, and at varying levels of depth. The list below gives examples of some of the issues I can facilitate individual clients to cope with:
Improving Relationships
Family Relationships
Friendships
Improving Communications
Sexual Relationship (heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, transgender, etc)
Support with Sexual Difficulties (there is a separate section regarding my work with couples)
Work Relationships
Increasing Internal Resources
Assertiveness
Feeling of Joy and Happiness
Motivation
Self-Confidence
Self-Belief
Self-Esteem
Self-Awareness
Self-Care
Self-Acceptance
Reducing Limiting thoughts, Feelings and Behaviours
Anger Management
Anxiety Compulsions
Depression
Fear
Obsessions
Panic Attacks
Phobias
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Stress
Exploring Identity
Conflict between expectations (yours and others) and how you want to live or are living
Cross Dressing
Culture
Menopause
Mid-Life Crises
Gender Identity
Sexual Identity
Race
Religion
Dealing with External Stressors
Caring for someone else
Crises
Family Breakdown/Separation
Living with Chronic Pain or Terminal Illness (yours or someone else’s)
Trauma
Managing Change
Bereavement and Loss
Ageing
Burglary
Death
Divorce
Emigration
Infertility
Imprisonment
Miscarriage
Moving Home
Serious Illness
Still Birth
Dealing with Abuse and Violence (currently occurring or from childhood)
Physical
Psycological and/or Verbal
Rape
Sexual
Work and Career Issues
Bankruptcy
Bullying
Creative Blocks
Harassment
Job Dissatisfaction
Long-Term Illness
Retirement
Self-Belief and Faith in Own Competence
Working with Others
Work-Related Stress
Other Symptoms
Mild to Moderate Eating Disorders
Self-Harm
Suicidal Feelings
A general Sense that something is Missing or Not Right
A General Felling of Being Unhappy without an Identifiable Cause
Emptiness- A Feeling of Being Lost or Numb
This is by no means a complete list – if you have an issue that is not listed here, it doesn’t mean that I am unable to help. Contact me to discuss it further in confidence.
